HELLO! How have all of you been? Good I hope yeah? Well here is the next installment! I hope all enjoy it.
READ ME!
I give you warning. There is a dark scene in this chapter. Hints of rape, torturing and mutilation. Only a small part though! Then we have lots of happiness!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but my imagination!
May 20, 1968
"All we need is a drummer, for people who only need a beat. I'm gonna add a little guitar, and make it easy to move your feet"
Aria spun in a circle as she danced in her kitchen to the music playing from a little radio on the counter. She was supposed to be cleaning, but when your favorite song comes on; cleaning gets replaced with dancing.
"Dance to the Music, dance to the music. Dance to the Music, dance to the music!"
Aria sang the lyrics as she started to move her hips around to the beat. She spun again, dragging the mop in her hand in long sweep as she twirled. She loved to dance. She missed dancing with her father, and with Kyo. The thought of her father and best friend had her missing a step and she promptly slipped on some water that was on the floor and fell on her behind.
"Now that was intertwining."
Aria looked up to see Reiko standing in the doorway and rolled her eyes as she picked herself up off the floor and dusted her behind off. She finished moping the floor and put the mop away inside the storage closet.
"I thought you weren't coming back." Aria said as she turned the water on at the sink to fill a bucket. She still had to clean the bathroom's and the outside patios. Lots of cleaning to be done. She picked her bucket of lemony scents up and carried it past Reiko and towards her bathroom. "You don't need to stay in the Human World anymore, we quit the Spirit Gig remember."
"I know that." Reiko responded as she took a sponge and kneeled on the floor next to Aria to help clean. "I was asked to come back… by both. To help keep you in check."
"You mean, babysit me and make sure I don't die." Aria said as she glared up at Reiko through her bangs. She had to wear what Humans called 'arm warmers' because the disease coursing through her body had turned her veins in her arms black. The spider webbing had reached past her elbow now. She was getting sicker, she knew that. Her strength wasn't what it used to be, but that didn't mean she needed a babysitter.
"I know you're against it, and with you no longer working for Koenma, you aren't really in a lot of danger but…demons still come after you Aria." Reiko set her sponge down and made Aria look at her. "They just want you safe…after everything…"
Aria made a noise under her breath and threw her sponge down as she stood up and stalked out of the room. Opening her sliding glass door up, she walked out on her Balcony and looked out over the city as the wind blew softly through her short locks of hair.
After everything…
Aria sighed and looked down at her hands. The reason she threw the Spirit Detective job back to Koenma. Groaning she gripped her head with both hands as the memories of that horrible, horrible night resurfaced.
1964
"I have reason to believe that some demons are keeping humans hostage at this location."
Aria looked away from the building on the screen in front of her and met Koenma's gaze. She nodded and took the map the blue ogre offered her and turned away from the Prince and left the room with Reiko following her.
"This sounds like a get in and get out kind of job." Reiko was looking over their request once more as they perched themselves on a bond owned building across the way from their target. Aria looked back at her for a moment before turning her teal eyes back to the forlorn building that they were about to enter.
"Let's not waste time then."
Aria told up from her crouch and vaulted over the edge of the building, she landed softly on the ground, her knees bending slightly to ease her landing. Pulling one of her pistols from her side, she flicked a switch to silence the shot and quickly shot out the streetlights. Once the entire area was covered in pitch blackness, Reiko passed Aria some glasses in which she quickly put on. They were neat things. Since her eyes weren't her normal demon eyes, Koenma constructed the glasses to show Thermal readings of bodies and they were equipped with what Humans called 'night vision."
Together, Aria and Reiko are their way across the street and to the building. It was easy enough to sneak in, just a simple flip of a switch and hard push and the window they were going in opened smoothly. Reaching up, Aria hit the side of the glasses and smirked when her vision was suddenly filled with green and red. She nodded and Reiko as the witch got her bow ready. Aria pulled a different clip out and put it her pistols.
"One…two…" She didn't have to say three. The two of them moved at the same time, Aria taking the left side, Reiko the right. Aria aimed at every red dot in her vision and quickly emptied both clips as she shot each of her victims. One of them toppled over a higher floor and Aria raced forward to catch the falling person before they made a very impact with the floor.
Setting the person down, Aria turned he/she over and froze.
"Is that… a human male?"
Aria didn't have to answer Reiko. Sure enough, the person she had just shot a Ketamine into was a human male. She looked up at Reiko as an uneasy feeling started to settle in her stomach. Why were humans the ones that were guarding the warehouse? The report said that humans were the ones captured?
"Reiko?"
Reiko blinked and looked away from the human's face. "I can't see Aria… I don't know what we are about to walk in on."
"Let's go find out."
Reiko nodded and followed Aria around the catwalks to the stairs that led downward. Their shoes made little noise as they descended the metal staircase, but each step was more and more heavy. Aria paused once they reached a single door. She took in a shaky breath and clicked her glasses again, a quiet whirring sounded before her vision fuzzed and cleared. Not seeing any bodies directly in front of the door, Aria turned the handle and pushed it open.
Why was entering this place so easy?
She looked around once she stepped inside the lowlight room and frowned when her vision went fuzzy. She pulled the glasses off and put them in her back pocket. They were going to useless now, something down here was going to interfere with them. She pulled a black head piece out of her pocket and placed it in her ear, Reiko copied her as she placed her bow on her back.
"You go down the left hallway, I'll take the right." Aria told Reiko who looked hesitant and like she wanted to argue, but nonetheless nodded and moved off down the left side of the room. Aria watched her leave and waited a few moments before she moved down her own.
She kept her back pressed against the wall as she walked down the length of the insanely long corridor. More than once, she was tempted to turn off her human guise and let her demon senses roam. However, she really didn't feel like giving Koenma the satisfaction of yelling at her. Hearing a sound coming her way, Aria panicked as she looked around for a place to hide. Looking up, she seen some metal bars wide enough for her to crawl up on and hide. Pushing strength into her legs, Aria jumped and grabbed the ledge, pulling herself up just in time as two humans paused underneath her.
"Did you see that girl? Skinny little thing, they should fatten her up if they want more service with that one." An obscene obese lady said as she clung to the arm of a tall, lanky male. The man just chuckled and patted the woman's hand.
"Yes dear, I am aware. She wasn't even worth the money I paid for." The way he said it made Aria's skin crawl. The two dressed in silk and diamonds. Aria knew that rich humans dressed a certain way depending on their social status. These two had no shame in showing off their pride and egos. Once they were down the hallway, Aria dropped down and continued her way.
The bad feeling had intensified. What the hell was going on here?
She stumbled across a few more human guards, but they were putty and were easily taken care of. The hallways turned into a very bright room that had several, several doors. Siting in the middle of the room on some love seats were about 7 humans. Each one had some sort of drink in their hand and were laughing so loud, Aria wondered how she didn't hear it before.
She frowned when she noticed that out of the seven, three were woman and they were naked. What the hell? Her frowned deepened when she seen that each one had their eyes trained on rather large screens on the far wall.
Aria felt her blood run cold as multiple feelings hit her as once. Her eyes widened as her jaw slackened, her arms went slack, letting her guns fall to her side. Disgust, horror, shock and anger burned through her veins.
Her teal eyes flickered from each screen. Each one worse than the last. This wasn't even…
Her lip curled as a growl built in her chest when she landed on the last screen. It showed a torture room, with a very skinny, skinny, ram demon bent tied down to a table with barbed wires and chains. What made Aria's vision turn red was the rather large male that currently had a rough grip on the ram's thighs as he brutally assaulted her body with his own.
It all clicked.
What this place was.
In every screen, every room. Was a demon being molested, beaten or killed, but not just any demons. Young children and teenagers. This type of behavior was common in Demon World yes, but never would Aria ever think that humans would go as far as capturing children to torture and get off on.
Aria's hands were shaking so badly. For the first time in her Demon life, Aria felt her demon side begging her to kill these worthless humans. Her demon instincts were roaring in her mind and in her soul, to seek vengeance. The same instincts she has kept at bay for over 2,000 years…
And they were winning.
Her teal eyes bled blue, as her hair grew to fall to her waist. She didn't have to look at her body to know her demon tattoos were spread out over herself. The earrings in her ear, popped as they combusted in on themselves and fell from her ears to clatter on the floor. There was no amount of technology that was going to reign her in right now.
"Koenma…" She growled, knowing he was watching her. "This is your fault, everything that is about to happen… It's on you!"
"No Aria, don't!" The yell came from the ear piece in her ear. Reiko sounded frantic and out of breath, and Aria could hear her friend's feet pounding against the hard ground as she ran.
Aria calmed herself a moment until her gaze flicked back to the ram demon. Her eyes widened when she watched as the man picked a machete up and brought it down, cutting the Ram's leg off at the thigh. Her blue eyes watched how the Ram screamed through the metal gag in her mouth, making blood pour out of her mouth to run down the side of her neck.
Aria's instincts took over, as her vision turned red and she lost herself in her rage.
"ARIA!"
She emptied her clips and let them crash to the floor, the sound alerting the humans in the room. Aria took a step out from behind the wall as she moved to reload her guns with real bullets.
"What? Who are you? You can't be in…" Aria aimed her gun at the man and fired, she watched as the bullet traveled to him and went clean through his skull. The woman next to him opened her mouth to scream, but she was silence soon after when a bullet went through her mouth and exploded. Aria didn't even stop as blood rained down around her the remain five. Her eyes looked back at the Ram demon, as a single drop of blood fell towards the ground, she unloaded five more bullets into the remaining humans.
She sheathed her guns and pulled her sword from her back as she kicked the first door open. She growled as her energy swept out around her. In a flurry, the human was in the floor in pieces and Aria was moving on the next one, then the next, and the next. Her foot kicked the room the Ram's door open and she froze when she got to witness the male, finishing his nasty little ritual the same time he beheaded the Ram.
Her body vibrated as a pulse of her demon energy rushed out. The male turned to look at her just as her power washed over him. Aria watched how is body was instantly incinerated, as well as the Ram's.
The anger coursing through her system continued to burn and rage throughout her soul. So much anger. Flashes of all the things she has experienced in her life calm rushing through her mind as she reached up to grip her hair with her blood-stained hands. She locked her jaw as tears built up in her closed eyes before spilling down her cheeks. All the hurt, pain and anguish Ashe has kept bottled up inside her was bubbling up to the service.
When it became too much to handle, Aria unlocked her jaw and let her mouth open as a scream was ripped from her lungs. Collapsing to her knees, Aria let it all out. Everything she had been keeping in. Her demon energy swirled around her like a hurricane. The wind picked up, lifting everything in the room up to join her energy as it raced around her.
As her energy expanded, Aria felt the resistance of the building around her. The images of what she just witnessed came to her mind and Aria's eyes opened wide as she threw her head back as her vocal cords cracked under the strain of her scream. With a final push, the building exploded into millions of pieces as her blue energy shot up into the sky, where it disappeared.
….
"ARIAAAAAAAAA!"
Reiko's voice was desperate at she screamed for her friend to get herself under control. Reiko had to retreat a very far distance away. She seen the blast happening, Aria losing control, but it was too late to stop her. Reiko's eyes widened as she watched the hole Aria created grow bigger as more and more of Aria's energy continued to pour out of her. If Aria didn't stop, the human city they were in was going to be destroyed.
Not seeing any other way, Aria pulled her bow off her back and notched a blunt arrow. She pushed her own spirit energy into the arrow, to make sure it didn't get destroyed as it made its way to its target.
"Sorry." Reiko whispered before she let the arrow fly. She watched as it sailed through all the debris and demon energy; she winced when the arrow hit Aria above her left temple. Aria's energy evaporated as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped over unconscious.
Jumping down from her post, Reiko took off running towards her friend. Dropping to her knees next to her, Reiko pulled Aria up to place her head in her lap. Taking a cloth form her pocket, the placed it against the wound now on her head and sighed as a popping sound was heard behind her.
A blue barrier erupted around her and Aria before the many footsteps behind her could get any further. "Unless you want to start a war, I suggest you get the hell away from us." Reiko said as she brushed Aria's hair from her face.
"That demon is a menace and threat to human kind! She must be detained!"
Reiko's purple eyes rose to meet the eyes of the captain of the SDF. He and three of his men were standing a few feet on the outside of her barrier. The rest of the annoyances were surrounding them on the outside of the crater they were sitting in.
"Like I said, if you don't a war to break out between Demon World and Spirit World. I suggest you and your other lackey's get the hell out of here." Reiko growled as her eyes narrowed. The captain shifted on his feet as he stared down at her. Reiko's energy fluctuated making them all go into defensive positions. The situation was almost laughable.
"You either turn that demon over or we will take her by force." The captain threatened as his men lifted their hands. Reiko raised an eyebrow, she opened her mouth to speak but her vision went black for moment as she swept away. The captain took that moment to command his men to fire.
The energy balls shot towards Reiko's barrier, as they impacted against it they exploded. After a few minutes of firing, the SDF stopped and lowered their hands. The captain held his breath as the dust slowly cleared, his eyes widened when not only was they witch's barrier intact, but someone was now standing between them and the barrier.
Reiko blinked her blurry eyes and looked up at the new figure who joined their little party. Her lips pulled back into a smile as a white tail flickered at her eye level, white pants and jacket, shaggy white hair and blue eyes she'd never forget was currently glaring daggers at the SDF.
"Attacking the daughter of one of the Demon Kings of the Makai, you people really are pompous, fools." Kyo spat out. Reiko felt her smile grow at hearing his voice. Her brows grew together though at why, or how he got here? "Now, if you pathetic waste of spaces don't want to know what it feels like have your soul sucked out; I suggest you get the hell out of here like she said."
"You have no authority here demon! Move or you're next!" Kyo smirked as he flexed his claws, popping the bones. A hand settled on his shoulder making look over to whoever it was invading his space. Seeing Koenma standing there, Kyo sighed and stepped to the side as he crossed his arms.
"Go home Captain. No one is under arrest here." Koenma ordered, the Captain stuttered as he stared at his Prince in shock for a moment.
"But Prince… we have orders to."
"I said leave! Report back to Spirit World! There was a break in that needs attention." With that, Koenma turned his back on the SDF and walked towards Reiko and Aria. Kyo raised an eyebrow at the SDF Captain as the man fought to keep his composure. A few soft pops later and the SDF took off back to Spirit World.
"You can lower the barrier Reiko." Koenma told her gently. Reiko nodded as it flickered out of existence. Kneeling, Koenma sighed as he looked over Aria's face. "This is my fault, I should have investigated the mission better before sending yall out." Reiko opened her mouth to tell Koenma off, but a hand reached out to grasp his blue robes, looking down she frowned as Aria forced herself into a semi-sitting position.
"I…quit…"Aria whispered, her voice hoarse from the her over use of her vocal cords. "Take...this...job…and shove…it up... your ass." Her eyelids slipped closed, and she went limp again in Reiko's arms. Kyo moved around and bent down to pick his lady up in his arms. Koenma's eyes saddened as he sighed and stood up.
"Come Reiko, show me your house so she can rest." Nodding, Reiko stood up and went to turn but stopped and placed her hand on Koenma's shoulder.
"Don't worry, this won't ruin your friendship with her Koenma. The future has not shifted, everything is still going true to course. This is how it was supposed to happen. " Reiko said as she patted his shoulder once more before turning away and walking back towards the city.
"Why are you here Kyo?" Reiko asked once they were a good distance away from Aria and Reiko's apartment.
Kyo sighed and looked over his shoulder. "Raizen felt her rage and sorrow and sent me here immediately. Luckily a break in the barrier was conveniently near Tourin and this city." Kyo explained as his arms tightened around Aria. "Raizen had ordered me to kill anyone that made his daughter feel such emotions. Not sure how he is gonna feel when I tell him they were already dead when I got here. Plus, Spirit World was threatening Lady Aria."
Reiko laughed at the face Kyo made. "He'd destroy all Three Worlds, so why don't we skip that part."
Kyo's facial expression turned to one of horror. "You want me to lie? To one of the strongest demons in the entire Demon History?" He shook his head sadly. "You really want me to die that badly?"
Reiko tsked and punched his arm. "Oh stop! He won't kill you doofus!"
"Doofus!?" Kyo's voice was way to high pitched as he stared at Reiko with supreme shock at the word she just called him. Both were too busy bickering back and forth, they missed the smile the spread across Aria's face at hearing them getting along once more.
Present
Aria was sitting in a chair looking at the sun as it sat out over the horizon. That was four years ago, which was a baby step in a demons life; however, the events still came up in her mind.
"You know, I've seen worse things in my 2,000 years living in Demon World than what happened here and yet. Why does this bother me more?"
Reiko shifted where was sitting across from Aria in another chair. "You loved Humans Aria. Before that night, you never had a bad thought against a human. Now though, you can't stand looking at them or breathing the same air. They disgust you now."
Aria wanted to argue, but it was true. She didn't see humans the same anymore. She knew they were evil, vicious creatures but her black and white world of them was no painted red and it was not going away.
"What did you see?"
"What?" Reiko asked as she pulled her legs up to her chest. Aria looked away from the now are disappeared sun to stare Reiko's eyes.
"What did you see that day? Before the SDF opened fired?" Reiko blinked as she exhaled and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling.
"I saw a boy, or the back of one anyways. He was standing in the middle of what looked like ruined stadium. He had black hair, jeans, no shirt and he was missing a shoe." Reiko chuckled, the idea seemed so stupid. "I don't know who it was, I couldn't see his face, but I felt emotions. Pride, happiness and genuine love." Her purple eyes moved to meet Aria's. "Your emotions. Whoever this man is, he is the one who restores your love for humans."
The thought sounded ridiculous, but Aria knew better than to argue with Reiko and her visions. They always seemed to come true.
June 26, 1979
"Damn it."
Aria cursed as she fumbled with her keys as she tried to unlock her door while juggling an armful of groceries. She couldn't see over the bag in her arm, so she was blindly trying to find the hole to fit her key in it. She groaned loudly when the keys fell from her fingers to land on the floor.
"Damn it." She cursed again as she bent down to pick them up, but pushed when a smaller hand reached forward to grab them instead.
"Here Ari! I got your keys!"
A smile lit up Aria's face as she looked down at the four-year-old holding up her house keys. Her eyes swept over his messy black hair and wide chocolate brown eyes. He was missing a tooth up front which you could see when he smiled way to big, like he was now.
"Thanks Yusuke! You're the best!" Aria cheerfully stated as she shuffled the bags in her arms around. "Now, will you be a bigger help and help me unlock my door?"
The impossibly wide smile on the little boys face grew painfully bigger as he got on hit tiptoes to fiddle with the door handle. Aria counted in her head, when she hit 27, her door unlocked and swung open as Yusuke raced inside to keep it open for her.
"Thanks love!"
Aris set her bags down and looked up as Yusuke ran around her living room with a toy plane. Her lips curled into a smile as he climbed on her couch and jumped over to her chair and then her table. The little airplane noises were just too cute.
"Be careful now, you don't wanna fall." Aria called as she started to put her groceries away. Yusuke jumped off her coffee table and ran into her Kitchen to push a chair against the counter and climb up to sit down.
"Guess what today is Ari!"
Aria opened her fridge and paused as she looked inside at her contents. "Hmmm, let me see…." She made sure the door wasn't open at enough for Yusuke to look inside as she placed some things down and grabbed a plate from inside. "Today is… YOUR BIRTHDAY!" Aria shouted excitedly as she pulled a huge chocolate cake out to present to the four-year-old.
Yusuke's eyes widened as he looked the cake over. His little legs started to bounce as she sat the cake down next to him. He went to dip his finger into the icing but Aria swat them away. Crossing his arms, Yusuke pouted as Aria moved about to find some candles and a lighter.
"YUSUKE?!"
Aria looked up from placing her blue candles to see a frantic woman standing in her living room. The woman was only 21, her long brown hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she had a lit cigarette in her mouth.
"Hey mom!" Yusuke called from his place on her counter.
"Atsuko…please put that out in here." Aria chided the woman softly. Atsuko apologized and put her cigarette out before coming to stand in the kitchen with them. "Yusuke, you didn't tell your mother you were leaving, did you?"
A guilty expression hit Yusuke's face as he sheepishly looked up at his mom. "Sorry… I saw Ari coming and got excited. I wanted to tell her it as my birthday, but Ari already knew!" Yusuke told him mom as he pointed to the cake. "Look mom! Ari made a cake!"
"You didn't have to do that Aria." Atsuko sat down in one of the vacant chairs around the table and prompted her arm up to rest her face in her hand. The poor woman looked dead on her feet. Aria just smiled in response before frowning and shutting the cabinet she was rummaging around in. Opening the next she exclaimed excitedly as she found a box of matches.
"Alright!" Striking one of them, she quickly lit the candles and placed it on the table. Yusuke scrambled off the counter and pushed his chair up to sit close as he could to the cake. Aria and Atsuko sang happy birthday to him, making his face turn red. "Make a wish Yusuke!" The four-year-old smiled widely as he sucked in a deep breath and blew. Aria and Atsuko cheered and clapped when they went out and Aria set out to fetch some plates and a knife to cut it up.
"Hey Ari, you don't mind watching him this weekend, do you?"
Aria looked up at Atsuko as she placed a piece of cake on a plate and sat it down in front of the bouncing four-year-old. About twice a month, Aria babysat Yusuke a few times a week. She didn't mind, she loved the little guy and he was very fun to hang out with.
"Sure, I don't mind. When will you be back?" Aria asked as she sat down with a cup of tea in her hand. From the look that swept across Atsuko's face, Aria understood. She nodded her head and sat her cup down before taking a bite of the cake. Yusuke wasn't paying attention to them, he was too busy shoveling cake in his mouth. "Be sober when you come get him."
Atsuko just waved her hand before moving to stand up. She kissed Yusuke's forehead before moving out of the apartment. Aria sighed as she watched the woman go, her eyes were drawn back to Yusuke when the little boy threw a piece of cake at her. The chocolate splattered against her cheek and her lips pulled back as she locked eyes with the grinning child.
"Oh yeah?" Aria swooped a good piece of chocolate on her finger and smudged it across Yusuke's own cheek. The grin that lit his face made a small shiver run through Aria's veins, it was one of per evil. Aria only had a moment's notice before Yusuke grabbed two fistfuls of cake and launched himself at her.
Aria pushed back from the table and ran around it as a manically laughing child ran after her. She wasn't prepared for him to dart under the table and cut her off. She gave a small yelp as she flailed her arms and fell on her booty. Yusuke tackled her to the floor as he shaved his cake filled hands in her face. Aria laughed as she shook her head back and forth to keep the little boy at bay. She reached up on her table and grabbed whatever she could, her hand contacted the top of Yusuke's head and she smeared the chocolate all over his face and hair.
"Say uncle! Say Yusuke is awesome!" Yusuke shouted as he mushed the cake on her cheeks.
"Yusuke is awesome!" Aria said through her laughter. One the tiny little fist pulled away, allowing her to open her eyes to look up at the triumphant four-year-old. If anyone seen this, she knew she would never live it down.
"Well then, you knew the great Aria could be defeated by a toddler." Aria groaned as she sat up with Yusuke in her lap and glared at the person(s) in her kitchen doorway. Reiko had a gigantic smile on her face as she did her best to keep her hysteria to herself. The white wolf at her side however was doing nothing to hide his amusement.
"I though you weren't coming till later?" Aria commented as she placed Yusuke on his feet and stood up. A piece of cake fell off her face and onto the kitchen floor. Wow, what a mess.
"It's the pretty lady!" Yusuke said as he smiled up at Reiko. Reiko looked down at him and give him a small smile. It twitched for a moment as her eyes unfocused for a second before coming back to focus again.
"Hello there Yusuke. Happy Birthday"
Aria took a rag out of her cabinet and wiped the cake from her face. "Come on birthday boy, let's go get in the bath." She guided the chocolate covered kid out of her kitchen and to the bathroom down the hall. Once she had the bath ready, she let Yusuke strip and hop in. He was old enough to bath by himself, so she let him play some as she left the door open and wandered back into the kitchen.
Reiko and the now demon-looking Kyo were already cleaning the chocolate off her floor and walls. How the heck it got there, she had no idea. Wetting the rag, she had, she washed what she could off and sat down in a chair.
"You have 10 minutes." She told the two in her kitchen as she lifted her cup of tea to her lips. Reiko nodded before setting the bag Aria didn't notice earlier on the counter. She pulled out a bunch of ingredients that Aria didn't even have to look at to know what they were. "How is he?"
Kyo sighed as he sat down in a chair next to his lady and grasped her hand lightly. "He's getting weaker my Lady. He won't make another decade." Aria eyes were focused on a spot on her kitchen floor. 10 years huh. She forced the pain that was rearing its head down and placed a fake smile on her face as she looked up into the blue eyes of her best friend.
"I should return soon, he needs me to..."
"No, no Lady Aria." Kyo tightened his hold on her hands and scooted closer to her until their foreheads were touching. "You need to live your life here like you want. You made new friends here, even if they are only four years of age. Stay here for as long as you need to…he won't die without saying goodbye."
Aria let her teal eyes shut as she reached up to cup Kyo's cheek. She took in a shaky breath to calm her racing heart and emotions. She'd see him alive again. She knew she would. She would see him again.
Reiko turned around with a steaming bowl of nastiness. Aria groaned at the smell and turned her face away as Reiko poured a vial of blood into the mixture. "Please tell me I can stop drinking his blood soon? This is starting to get disgusting. The human taste buds I have don't take to kindly with the taste of metallic."
Reiko smirked at her and took her tea cup, emptying its contents and pouring the mixture into it. "Drink." She orders to which Aria just groaned again, her skin turning a light green. "We won't have to do this much longer. Whilst in your human form the disease doesn't attack your body as fast, seeing as how it is a disease bread to attack demon energy." Reiko placed the cup at her lips and forced Aria's head back with Kyo's help. "However, you still have to drink this every 4 months Aria."
Aria had to pinch her nose and hold her breath as she drank the repulsive, putrid liquid down her gullet. She had to force herself not to throw up as the taste made her gag reflex kick into overdrive. Once that horrendous ordeal was over, Aria coughed and gladly accepted the next cup of refreshing tea Kyo handed her.
"I won't be returning for a very long time. Koenma only let us come this time because you needed the treatment. It will be a few years before King Enma allows us passage back here." Reiko told her as she started to store the ingredients of the temporary antidote in her cupboards. She held up red little tablets. "These are your fathers blood. They have been frozen into the capsules. You have enough stuff here to last you until I came back again."
Aria nodded as she looked between the two. From their hesitation, she could tell they didn't wanna leave. She gave them a small smile and stood up. She hugged her best friend and melted against his chest when his familiar strong arms folded around her.
"Until next time."
Kyo smiled at her before his ears twitched and suddenly he was a wolf again. A few moments later, Yusuke came running into the kitchen. A towel wrapped around his body and soap still in his hair.
"Yusuke! What did I tell you about running across the floors wet?" Aria said as she placed her hands on her hips and stared down at the child. Yusuke smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, his chocolate brown eyes looking away.
"Sorry Ari. I'll do better next time."
Aria jumped when a crash sounded behind her. Whirling around, she found Reiko staring wide eyed at Yusuke, a broken cup was at her feet. Her friends wide purple eyes were vacant as her mouth opened slightly.
"Reiko?" Hearing her name being called, Reiko snapped out of her daze as Aria raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
Reiko clerked her throat and looked down at the mess she made. Letting out a nervous chuckle, she moved to clean the glass up as Aria turned to a confused looking Yusuke.
"Come on, let's go get these bubbles out of your hair." Aria guided Yusuke out of the kitchen and back towards her bathroom. She looked over her shoulder at Reiko, the witch was shaking slightly as she eyed Yusuke's retreating back.
Reiko had a vision with Yusuke in it. That much Aria knew, but she also knew that Reiko wouldn't tell her what it was.
One giant splash battle, some running around her apartment to get naked Yusuke dressed, a quick dinner and a pillow fight later; Aria was turning the light off to the room Yusuke was currently passed out in and shutting the door to a small crack to allow light to stream in. Sighing, she picked up the pillows off the living room floor and stuffed them all back where they belonged.
Making sure all her dishes were clean and food was tucked away before she padded to her own room to get ready to sleep. Aria had just closed her eyes when her door creaked open and something grabbed at her blankets as a tiny body made themselves known in her bed. Raising her arm, Aria felt Yusuke tuck his body next to hers. His head found comfort on her shoulder as her hand came up to play with his hair. His arms were tucked into her side as was his legs. She pulled the sheet up over him and went back to playing with his hair.
"Goodnight Yusuke." Aria mumbled as she turned her head to kiss his forehead.
"Night Ari."
….
November 22, 1980
"Can we go back tomorrow?"
Aria looked down at the five-year-old currently clutching her hand. They just left the park and were only leaving cause of how cold it had gotten. Yusuke wanted to go back to play with the little boy and girl he met there. Keiko and Kazuma. Such cute children.
"Maybe, it's supposed to snow tonight. Your mom comes back tomorrow through." Aria reminded the brown eyed boy who just grumble under his breath and tightened his gloved hand around her own. Aria smiled down at him before spotting a venue selling hot chocolate. She quickly paid for two and handed the now eager boy one. "It's hot." She warned him as he tried to gulp it down only to have his tongue burned.
Laughing, Aria took hold of his hand and walked him down the street back to her apartment. Her smile tipped when she noticed a very familiar dark-haired male standing outside her apartment complex. His black eyes looked up to regard her and Aria inclined her head as she unlocked the lower doors and went inside. The man didn't follow but Aria knew he wouldn't.
Once inside her apartment, she made Yusuke go turn the TV on as she went back to check the mail. She wrapped her scarf around her neck tighter as she stepped back out into the chilly air. Walking around the building, she stepped into an alley way and crossed her arms as she stared at the one and only Shinobu Sensui.
"What do you want this time?"
Sensui pushed off the wall and walked towards her. "I just wanted to let you know that I was no longer Koenma's lap dog." Aria raised an eyebrow at him and tipped her head back some to look up at the tall man. "That and I wanted to have one more conversation with the Lady Aria of Tourin."
Sensui was a twisted bastard. Aria could tell that ever since she met the guy when he was still just a child. Aria helped mentor him, at Koenma's request. Koenma wanted him to be the next detective after Kuroko. Aria already got word what happened to Sensui. The same thing that happened to her.
The exact same thing…
So, Aria knew why he was coming to her.
"You hate them. You feel deep hatred for your own kind for what they are capable of. You want them all to perish and be swallowed up by their own transgressions." Aria said as she looked at a spot behind Sensui. "That hatred you're feeling, will never go away. You will always hold a deep resentment towards your kind." She looked up at him and met his cool black eyes.
"It was nice talking with you again Lady Aria, maybe we will meet again one day."
Aria was alone in the alley a moment later. Sighing, she turned around and walked back out onto the streets and back up to her apartment. Yusuke had made a blanket fort in her living room with pillows and blankets everywhere.
"Come on Ari! The movie started!" He called from somewhere in the mass of pillows of blankets. Chuckling, Aria removed her shoes and jacket before getting on her knees and crawling under the blankets to sit next to Yusuke, who had popped popcorn and had gathered other assortment of snacks for them to eat as they watched a movie.
….
April 3, 1981
"They what?!"
Aria shouted as she stared wide eyed at the demon messenger standing in her living room. She had just gotten word that Mukuro and Yomi were planning on attacking Tourin soon. With Raizen weakening, and no one else there to defend the territory. Aria's vision went red for a moment. The messenger demon coward as her lips curled back into snarl.
She'd be damned if those two even dared to attack Tourin.
"Take me to the nearest portal!" She told the demon as she moved to gather her things. She opened her balcony door and was about to go out when she heard a voice behind her. Yusuke was running down the hallway shouting her name.
Aria's heart clenched as she sighed and turned away. Her father was more important right now. She had to go to him.
"Sorry Yusuke." She whispered before her and the messenger demon vanished off her balcony the exact moment her door swung open and Yusuke came rushing in to show her a painting he had drawn of the two.
A frown marred his face as the painting slipped from his fingers and onto the floor at seeing the apartment empty. He walked inside and found a small note on the coffee table. Thanks to Ari, he could read enough to know what the note said. Tears rushed to his eyes as he ran out of the apartment and back to his own.
His Ari was gone.
SOOOO, I was going to make this chapter longer and add in Aria going to Tourin and then visit each ruler and basically telling them to fuck off, buttttt... Ima squeeze it in into the next chapter. The next one though will have some more familiar faces. Time will skip to when Yusuke dies in a car accident. When Aria meets him again, and meets the others. I hope you all are ready for the next chapter, it's gonna be a doozy of a ride!
If anyone wants to see anything specific just let me know! As always, I would love to hear from you all. I see lots of silent readers, but I appreciate it. Reviews are nice too... we writers live off them. *hint hint*